Joanne Hus Studios: Vector Victor Tutorial

Be a Vector Victor Convert a pen and ink drawing to a vector image

by Joanne Hus

TUTORIAL OVERVIEW In this tutorial, I’ll teach you how to convert your pen & ink drawing to a vector image in Adobe Illustrator.

I’ll also show you some cool things you can do with your vector drawing.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED For this tutorial you will need:

• a pen & ink drawing • a scanner • Adobe Illustrator • basic skills in Illustrator (know how to: open a file; edit color swatches; use direct selection tool; use pencil tool or pen tool to draw a shape; save a file) • Adobe Photoshop • basic skills in Photoshop (know how to: open a file; use brushes to retouch an image; specify image resolution; save a file)

I use version CC of Illustrator and Photoshop on a Mac; most of these instructions should work in CS 6 and earlier versions, and on a PC.

STEP-BY-STEP 1. Take a grayscale scan of your drawing. Don’t worry if you pick up some tone in the background; we’ll take care of that later. I usually scan at 300 dpi, but feel free to experiment.

Open your scan in Photoshop.

2. Get rid of background tone: in Exposure (Image > Adjustment > Exposure), play with the Exposure slider until you drop the background tone. Then, make your lines darker by adjusting the Gamma Correction slider. Don’t worry about uneven weights in your lines, or lines that aren’t 100% black. This is exactly what makes your vectorized drawing look handdrawn and not computer generated.

Note: If you want to “color in” your drawing, be sure that all your shapes Text and images © Joanne Hus Studios, LLC. All rights reserved.

are closed, either in the original drawing, or in your retouched scan. In Photoshop, a good way to see if your shapes are closed is by using the Paint Bucket tool ( ). It never lies! (Be sure to undo the paint bucket after you test each shape.)

Save your retouched scan.

3. Open a new file in Illustrator. Place your retouched scan: go to File > Place... and select the retouched scan. Click once to place the loaded image.

While the placed image is still selected, go to Window > Image Trace and play around with the different presets.

Toggle on Preview to see what your vector drawing will look like. Play with the Threshold slider until you’re happy with the results.

Note: You can save these settings as a custom preset by clicking on the little menu icon ( ) next to the Preset dropdown menu, then Save as new preset... .

When you’re happy with the preview, click Trace. While your vectorized drawing is still selected, go to Object > Expand, then click Okay. (Or, go to the dock and click Expand.)

Now comes the fun part!

4. If you want to have a “colored in” look, use the Direct Selection tool ( ) to select a particular white shape and change its fill color. You don’t have to leave your line work black, either. You can select the black shape(s) and change their color, too. Be sure to save your work as you go. Save early, save often!

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5. You can get a looser style by dropping all the white shapes. In a more intricate drawing (like the pineapple in the sample), you can simply use the Direct Selection tool to select one white shape, then go to Select > Same... > Fill & Stroke, then hit Delete. Or you can keep your options open, and change the white fill to None ( ). Nice!

Now you can draw some interesting shapes “outside the lines,” behind your line work. Once you draw the shape, simply select it with the Direct Selection tool and go to Object > Arrange > Send to Back.

Looks cool, doesn’t it?

Don’t stop there. Play with multiplying, drop shadows, opacity, and so on. There are no limits to what you can do with your vector drawing!

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If you found this tutorial helpful, please share the link and like this post.

Thanks, and happy vectors to you!

Joanne Hus creates playful illustrations that appeal to kids and the grown-ups who buy for them. See her work at joannehus.com.

Text and images © Joanne Hus Studios, LLC. All rights reserved.